The Elements of Effective Time Management

Time is a resource we simply cannot afford to waste. This is because time is something that no man can earn more of. No matter what people do, they will always keep running out of time. Not even the richest man in the world can pay for more time. Another thing that makes effective time management so important is the fact that time is a factor that is so crucial in all of man's plans. In everything that people do, the time factor needs to be perfect. Timing is everything in life. The importance of effective time management is a lesson instilled in us even in our childhood. Do you know the fable of the tortoise and the hare? It shows the wisdom and effectiveness of proper time management. It shows that people can succeed even in the face of seemingly unbeatable competitions as long as they know how to manage their time properly.Effective time management, though, is not a singular skill. A person cannot hope to get effective time management skills with a single swipe. He or she has to have knowledge of the different elements of effective time management in order to get the whole skill. So what are the elements of effective time management?1) Planning ñ effective time management requires a person to plan. Effective time management requires a person to think before acting. Effective time management means being able to properly plan your tasks before you have to actually do them. This way, you will be able to a lot the amount of time required to performing each task. You also need to know the fact that planning beforehand will save you a lot of time since after the planning is finished, all you would need to do is accomplish the tasks that you have planned.2) Prioritization ñ a great deal of effective management is prioritization. You need to prioritize your tasks. Do what needs to be done first. You should learn by now how to judge the significance of different tasks. You need to learn how to a lot time properly in order to accomplish the important tasks first. This way, you would be able to accomplish the vital stuff first. This is an essential part of effective time management as this would allow you to do the tasks that actually matter the most to you.3) Focus ñ you need to remember that although prioritization is important in effective time management, the importance of tasks are always relative. This is the reason why focus is also an essential part of effective time management. You need to focus in achieving a certain goal before moving on to the next one. In two goals, there could be two important tasks. However, you need to finish the least important task of one goal before you can move on to doing the most important task of the next goal. Focusing on individual goals will help you in effective time management.4) Discipline ñ even if you have a great plan, you need to have discipline to stick to that plan. Effective time management means having the discipline to actually act on your plan. Your self discipline determines the actual implementation of your plans. Effective time management is what you make it.